Adnan Januzaj was meant to be Sir Alex Ferguson’s parting Man Utd gift

He was dubbed “a boy who can do anything” by the Manchester United fans a decade ago. Understandably so, given his exhilarating first-team breakthrough. His first United start saw him score twice in a 2-1 Premier League comeback win at Sunderland, one a sublime volley. The Belgian was just 18 then, and it looked as though Sir Alex Ferguson’s successor David Moyes had been blessed with the club’s latest young prodigy.

The Scot said: “We know we’ve got a really special talent, but we’ll keep his feet on the ground. He’s going to be a top, top player.” Moyes even compared the teenager’s abilities to a young Wayne Rooney and added that “he has characteristics of Johan Cruyff”. Eric Harrison – the mastermind behind United’s Class of 92 – said: “Januzaj is outstanding and I think he is similar to Cristiano Ronaldo.”

Similarly, Gary Neville said: “However, I genuinely think this guy could be one of the best in the world.” While Robin van Persie declared: “Over the years I’ve seen so many young players and I can honestly say that of all the young players I’ve seen he is right up there in the top one or two. He’s a special player.”

But 10 years on, the only similarities between Ronaldo and Januzaj are that their birthdays are both February 5 and they both used to play for United. Januzaj has scored just 28 goals career goals since that Sunderland brace – several hundred less than the Portuguese – and was last week loaned out by Sevilla to Istanbul Basaksehir.

It is not the career path that was once envisioned inside United. Ferguson once dubbed Januzaj “a beautifully balanced player” and gave him a spot on the bench in his final match in charge – an iconic 5-5 draw at West Brom. The winger had only signed two years earlier as a 16-year-old from Anderlecht.

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The following season under Moyes, Januzaj would make 35 appearances, scoring four goals. At the end of the campaign he was even handed the iconic No 11 shirt worn by Ryan Giggs due to the Welshman’s retirement. But the youngster would make just 28 appearances in the number.

Just as quickly as Januzaj rose to prominence, he would fade into insignificance. He struggled for minutes under Louis van Gaal in 2014-15 and then loan spells with Borussia Dortmund and Sunderland failed to revive his spark.

Thomas Tuchel, the Dortmund manager in 2015-16, suggested Januzaj “did not show the desire and attitude you need to progress at his age” and said he was “never completely with us” and “a part of him always stayed in Manchester”.

Januzaj, for his part, felt he might’ve stayed on at Old Trafford were it not for Van Gaal in particular. He later revealed: “If I had the right people that really were pushing me, that were giving me love and wanted me to play, yes, of course I would still be there, possibly.

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“If you don’t have the right people, the right coaches who can push you further then it would be really difficult for you to show yourself on the pitch, to express yourself.” Sadly, though, Januzaj has never really lived up to that early hype wherever he has gone, whoever has coached him.

The 15-cap Belgium international had a relatively successful five-year spell with Real Sociedad but was released at the end of his contract last summer. And having gone on to join Sevilla for free, he already finds himself out on loan again in Turkey.

It is a sorry story for a player who once promised so much, a player who once looked – as the Stretford End so excitedly sang – like he could do anything in a United shirt. Nicky Butt the ex-head of the club’s academy said four years ago labelled Januzaj his “biggest disappointment”.

“I don’t think I’ve seen a player, probably since Ryan [Giggs], who was as good as that. He was unbelievable. In my eyes he should have gone on to be a world superstar.” Though he may have only just turned 28, Januzaj seems destined to fit firmly in the ‘what could have been’ category of players.